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A Russian cargo spacecraft has begun its brief journey to the International Space Station (ISS)
Packed with nearly 3 tons (2.7 metric tons) of propellants, food and other supplies, the Progress 75 Robotic Freighter launched on a Russian Soyuz rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan today (April 24) at 9:51 p.m. EDT (0151 GMT and 6:51 a.m. Baikonur local time on April 25).
If everything goes according to plan, Progress will reach the laboratory in orbit in a few hours, at 1:12 a.m. EDT (0512 GMT) of April 25. You can see the coverage of the arrival and docking operations of the Progress live here at Space.com, courtesy of NASA TV, starting at 12:30 a.m. EDT (0430 GMT).
Related: Russia Progress spacecraft – ISS supply ship
Arrival will mark the start of a long-term stay for Progress; It is expected to leave the ISS in December, NASA officials said. Therefore, the freighter will be available to help welcome SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule on its first manned flight, the Demo-2 test mission.
The launch of Demo-2, which will take NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to and from the orbiting lab, will launch on May 27. It will be the first orbital human space flight to be launched from the US soil. USA Since NASA’s space shuttle fleet retired in July 2011.
Progress is one of four robotic freighters currently resupplying the ISS, along with Japan’s H-II transfer vehicle and two private American spacecraft, Cygnus of Northrop Grumman and SpaceX’s cargo dragon. (SpaceX maintains cargo and crew agreements with NASA.)
Three of these four vehicles are disposable, burning in Earth’s atmosphere after leaving the laboratory in orbit. The exception is the reusable Dragon, which produces ocean splashes with a parachute.
Right now, three astronauts live on board the ISS: NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, who directs the station’s current 63rd Expedition, and cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner.
Mike Wall is the author of “Out there“(Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for extraterrestrial life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.
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